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Rutgers president testifies on campus safety, OCR work and medical‑school merger
Summary
Rutgers' president described recent campus protests and arrests, said the university tightened time/place/manner rules and coordinated police response, and addressed accreditation and facilities concerns in the medical‑school merger and University Hospital infrastructure issues.
Trenton — Jonathan Holloway, outgoing president of Rutgers University, told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee that his university has taken steps to tighten communications and enforce time‑place‑manner restrictions after recent campus protests and arrests, and that the institution is working with accreditors and state partners on the recently advanced medical‑school merger and infrastructure needs for University Hospital.
Holloway said Rutgers is reviewing policies and ensuring coordination between student affairs, academic leadership and campus security. He confirmed that four individuals involved in a recent protest were arrested and that disciplinary outcomes such as suspension or expulsion are possible under student‑conduct rules pending review.
On federal inquiries, members noted that the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights had opened investigations into alleged antisemitism at several institutions; Holloway and OSHE representatives said they were cooperating with oversight and that Rutgers has submitted materials to the Office for Civil Rights and updated campus policies.
Holloway also discussed equity among Rutgers campuses and said master‑planning and capital investments have not always proceeded evenly; he noted a recently announced half‑billion‑dollar investment in medical‑science facilities as part of efforts to bring Newark facilities closer to parity with New Brunswick. He and senators pressed the importance of University Hospital, a state facility, and said coordinated state investment is needed to modernize the physical plant that supports clinical care and education.
On the merger of medical schools, Holloway said accrediting bodies have paid close attention to student experience and facilities and that Rutgers is investing to meet those standards.
